YWCA Westman unveils $40M women’s campus plan

YWCA Westman unveiled plans Thursday evening for an estimated $40-million women’s campus at a community launch in Brandon.

The project is expected to bring emergency and supportive housing, sexual-assault services and other supports under one roof for women and children across the Westman region.

The launch, held at the Backyard on Aberdeen, marked the beginning of a broader fundraising effort for the proposed campus, YWCA Westman chief executive officer Lois Ruston said.

“We’re talking about it with the community and letting everyone know what the vision is,” she told the Sun after the event. “The provincial government has provided about $350,000 in pre-development funding through a few departments, while over $1 million has been raised so far from government programs, credit unions, a number of family and business donors.”

Compass Credit Union and Sunrise Credit Union have both supported the project.

The proposed campus would include about 30 emergency beds and 20 longer-term housing units for families rebuilding their lives after violence, Ruston said.

“It would also include commercial space to generate revenue, a social enterprise aimed at helping women develop employment and other skills, assessment and support areas, cultural spaces, prayer rooms and grandmother suites,” Ruston said.

One of the most significant additions would be western Manitoba’s first dedicated sexual-assault examination space.

Currently, Ruston said, survivors may have to go to an emergency department for an examination, where a trained forensic nurse may not be available, or travel to Winnipeg to access specialized services.

“Every element of the women’s campus responds to a gap that survivors, family and service providers have identified,” Ruston said during her speech.

The facility, she said, is also expected to include trauma-informed interview rooms where police can work with survivors and children who have witnessed violence. YWCA Westman is exploring the possibility of a remote testimony space that could allow survivors to testify without appearing in court.

Bringing the services together would also mean women would not have to repeatedly navigate different systems or retell their experiences, Ruston said.

The YWCA women’s shelter in Brandon is at maximum capacity, president Jessica Saler said.

“We received more than 830 crisis calls and recorded more than 5,200 bed nights last year,” Saler told the audience during the launch. “This project is going to provide a new level of care.”

YWCA Westman serves Brandon and the broader Westman region, including 41 municipalities, 55 towns, five First Nation reserves and a Canadian Forces military base, Saler said.

Manitoba Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith told the Sun that her department has provided $250,000 toward proposal development and intends to continue working with the YWCA.

“We believe in this project,” Smith said. “Our government believes in making sure that folks can get support wherever and whenever they need it.”

Smith told the audience about her own experience as a survivor of domestic abuse, describing how emergency housing and people who supported her helped her leave an abusive relationship while keeping her children in the same community.

“I left with nothing really, and it was emergency housing that I went into at a domestic violence shelter,” Smith said.

She said the proposed campus could provide women with the same kind of safe place to begin rebuilding their lives.

Smith said it is important to support men and boys as part of efforts to prevent domestic violence.

“If we don’t support men as well, men will just keep doing what they’re doing,” she said. “They’ll go on to abuse someone else.”

Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said his department has also supported the project since its early stages and helped connect the YWCA with provincial funding sources.

His department provided close to $100,000 through the From the Ground Up program, he said.

“It’s an important piece of the puzzle of everything here in Brandon,” said Simard, the MLA for Brandon East.

He said the project will require co-operation between several provincial departments, including municipal relations, housing, health and families.

The credit unions supporting the initiative said the project reflects the role community organizations can play in helping families through difficult circumstances.

Compass Credit Union CEO Corlel Poyser said she was struck by the amount of thought that had gone into making the transition to safety easier for women and children.

“YWCA saw a need. They took on the work, and they’re doing something about it,” Poyser said.

Sunrise Credit Union CEO Tim Klassen said the project would benefit communities throughout western Manitoba.

“Having access to safe, supportive resources can make a tremendous difference in people’s lives,” Klassen said.

Ruston said the organization plans to roll out additional campaigns and opportunities for community members and organizations to contribute.

“We can’t do this alone,” Ruston said. “It takes, you know, not just government, but it takes, you know, folks who have the means and the money to also support.”

The YWCA has not yet announced a target date for the completion of the proposed campus.

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